Security force college to offer Master’s and PhD degrees

The Higher School of the Public Security Force of Macau (ESFSM) has been given the green light to offer Master’s and PhD Degrees, according to the Executive Council.

On Friday, the council announced three administrative regulation drafts for the higher education regime, the 2019 fiscal year budget, and the supplemental tax regulation and tax information exchange law.

Regarding the amendment of the higher education system regulation, it has been proposed that ESFSM be permitted to organize more courses and issue certificates and degrees – including for postgraduate courses – alone or in collaboration with local or non-local higher education institutions.

The amendment also proposes establishing a school management committee and an academic and teaching committee at ESFSM.

The management committee shall be the highest organ responsible for setting and implementing the school’s teaching strategies. Its members include the Secretary for Security, leaders in the security sector, and others appointed by the Chief Executive. The academic and teaching committee shall be the advisory body responsible for setting the academic and teaching matters of each course.

ESFSM’s leadership includes one principal and a vice-president, three departments and five divisions. The bill has been advised to come into effect on August 7 this year.

Meanwhile, the 2019 budget bill amendment proposes the establishment of the Macau Investment Development Fund Management Co. Ltd.

The bill further proposes to add MOP60 billion to the general budget of Macau for the 2019 fiscal year, with the relevant amount of investment to be issued from the excess reserves in the fiscal reserve.

Regarding the company’s capital, MOP59.88 billion will be subscribed by Macau SAR government, the Macau Trade and Promotion Institute and Macau’s Industrial and Commercial Development Fund. Each are shareholders of the company, and will subscribe MOP60 million.

The MOP60 billion will not be included into the amount of basic reserves indicated by the fiscal reserve bill.

In line with the latest international tax standard “tax base erosion and profit turn – Action XIII” on the automatic exchange of information on financial and business activities of multinational corporations, the SAR government proposes to amend the existing income supplemental tax regulations and tax information exchange law system. This corresponds to the third amendment announced on Friday.

The bill proposes that enterprises in Macau that follow the compliance regulations of the final parent entity of a multinational corporation shall be taxed according to the appropriate weaving accounting declaration of actual profits.

The final parent entity must provide Macau’s Financial Services Bureau (DSF) with information about the group itself and its member entities, and the DSF will share the information automatically between countries and regions of jurisdiction in which the group is involved.